Almost a year ago, Jesse, our son, asked if we wanted to go on a cruise to Alaska with his family. I instantly said, “yes,” and David began working out the details with Jesse right away. David wrote a wonderful piece about this fantastic family vacation, from which we just returned last week. It is called, “The Surprise-Travel Travel Plan.”
When Jesse made the proposal, I was focused on re-establishing our investment business. But the trip seemed far enough away such that I thought, “We should be generating sufficient revenues by then.” I had no clue, however, whether or not we would have reached a point where I would feel comfortable spending money for pleasure. Since 2010, we stopped incurring any non-essential expenses, including vacation. The majority of my pension and Social Security income has been poured into our business. Then I thought, “Because of my unrelenting focus on our business, we have not even been able to visit with our grandchildren much at all. And they are growing up so-very fast. What’s all this working my every waking moment about, any way, if I can’t even enjoy the company of the most important people in my life?”
Immediately after the proposal, David began diligently saving his income from his engineering-consulting business so that I did not have to be stressed out about the travel expenses. His action took some pressure off of me. But, as always, I did not like the idea of depending on others – not even on my own husband of 42 years – to pay for my portion of the travel.
While I have always been motivated to succeed, the invitation to this family trip made me get even more focused on generating revenues through our investments. As a result, by the time we had a real-estate mentor come into our town and work with us for two full days during the last week in April, we already had two deals closed and another one ready to be closed. We were so proud of our first major wholesale revenue that we now have a copy of it on our respective desks. A leading-industry guru coined the term, “shut-up check,” and he encourages his students to display it prominently. It signifies that we now know how to make money wholesaling properties – causing any doubters about our ability to make it in this business to “shut up.” Fortunately, however, we have never had to deal with any naysayers among our family members and/or friends –probably because we have so little time for socializing with anyone outside of our circle of like-minded entrepreneurs. The color copy of the check is simply a reminder to ourselves that we CAN do this. Talk about a tremendous psychological relief right before the family trip! Then, on the day we arrived in Denali, Alaska, an offer came from a buyer for yet another property. Thank goodness for the Internet! As of this writing, we are right on schedule for this year’s annual-revenue goal.
Every single day, I cherish the time I get to spend with David, running our investment business together. Being able to go on vacation with our extended family and thoroughly enjoy their company is a sweet icing on the cake. The essence of freedom is to do what we want, when we want and, most importantly, with whom we want. I am grateful for my life in America where I am free.
Happy Investing!
